A Snake Meeting on Downey Street
by The Self-Proclaimed Book Whore
Summary: What happens when K-Unit is sent to get Alex for a COBRA meeting during school hours. Too bad Wolf is doing Wolfie things, Fox is doing super-secret spy stuff and Snake and Bear are arguing about terrorist experts. What will Eagle do?


Alex groaned, wishing he could just put his head down on his desk and fall asleep to the voice of his Politics teacher, Mr Carmel, droning on about COBRA meetings. A subject that Alex, of all people, knew all too well about.

Turning away from the window Alex glanced at his best friend, Tom Harris, who was sitting next to him at the back of the room. Tom had only taken Politics for two reasons; Alex was taking it and he thought it would be funny to watch Alex show Mr Carmel up in most of the course.

Fortunately for Alex, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Mr Carmel's long winding and somewhat inaccurate account of how COBRA meetings went was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Crossing the room Mr Carmel opened the door wide, allowing the class a full view of a tall man with short blond hair dressed in full SAS fatigues.

"Hello, may I help you with anything?" Mr Carmel asked politely.

"Hi, is this tenth year Politics? I'm here to pick up Cub," the man said.

Alex groaned, hiding his face in his hands, not seeing Tom's amused expression.

"I'm sorry, but none of my students are called _cub_."

"Ohhhh, sorry. " The man said, "I meant Alex Rider. Oh look, there he is," he said spotting Alex at the back of the room. "Cub," he said brightly, bounding across the room, "hey Cubby, Cubby, Cubby-kins! Guess what, guess what, guess what!"

"What are you doing here Uncle Josh?" Alex ground out through a forced smile, slumping in his seat and ignoring the looks he was getting from his classmates and teacher.

"Now, now Cub. We're on duty, you gotta call me Eagle. And what's with the Uncle thing? I mean, personally I see myself as your awesometastic older brother, but I can roll with the cool uncle thing if you want."

Alex sighed, "Why are you here Eagle?" he asked again.

"Gotta pick you up," Eagle said grinning. "You're needed."

"And it couldn't wait until after school was over?"

"Nope," came the cheerful reply. "I was meant to tell you something though. A message from Mr Blank, or was it Blook," Eagle frowned, "it was a bunch of codes and numbers and stuff, but you know I'm not good at that sort of thing," the SAS man whined.

"It's Blunt. Can you tell me anything?"

"That I can, Cub. I asked Foxy what it all meant. Apparently we're taking you to Downey Street for the snake meeting about SCORPIA … I think."

Alex let his head hit the desk. "By any chance was it that I'm needed at number 10 Downing Street for the COBRA meeting about SCORPIA?" Alex groaned, his voice muffled by the desk.

"Yup," Eagle said, popping the 'p'.

Alex's head suddenly shot up from the desk, his face pale. "They called a COBRA meeting about SCORPIA, he said blankly.

"You just said that Cub, come on, we gotta go.

"Shit," Alex said under his breath before turning to Tom. "Tom, could you tell Jack I might not be home tonight and I'll text her when I can."

"Alex," Mr Carmel said, coming out of his stupor, "is everything alright?" he asked, wondering why one of his students, and trouble maker Alex Rider at that, was being collected by an SAS man, and why they were talking about COBRA meetings and SCORPIA, one of the deadliest and feared terrorist organisations in the world.

"Don't worry Mr Carmel, everything's going to be fine," Alex said reassuringly. "Oh hell," Alex swore again, realising just what his peers and teacher had just heard. "Eagle," he barked, "do the letters O, S and A mean anything to you?" he asked.

"Nope," Eagle said, searching his brain, "Why? Should they?"

"Yes," Alex exclaimed. "The Official Secrets Act. You know, that thing that says you can't go around talking about State Secrets around civilians, like the fact that there's a COBRA meeting about SCORPIA and I'm needed for it."

"Ohhhhh," Eagle said sheepishly, "Sorry."

"Honestly, how exactly are you still in the SAS." Alex asked, "Actually, how did you get accepted in the first place?"

"Sexual favour," Tom piped up from besides Alex.

"Exactl…hey," Eagle said, "Alex, your friend's being mean."

"Ewwwwww. Tom, I did not need those images." Alex shuddered, ignoring Eagle.

Suddenly Eagle laughed. "Cubby, I like him. Even though I think he was insulting me. Can we keep him?"

"Yeah, come on Al. It'll be fun." Tom said, bouncing in his chair, a grin on his face. "I wanna come."

"Oh dear God, how did I get stuck with this." Alex muttered to himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Eagle. You cannot keep my best friend. And Tom, you cannot come to the COBRA meeting."

"Nawwwwwwwwwwwww," Eagle and Tom whined.

Alex started muttering profanities under his breath in every language he could think of. "Eagle," he said finally, "why did Blunt send you of all people?"

"Oh, he didn't. Technically he sent K-Unit. But Wolf's doing … whatever it is that he does. Wolfie things, that's what he's doing. I asked him what, but he told me to shut up and get in the car. And Fox is busy with some super-secret spy work, but I think he was just trying to get rid of me-"

"I can't imagine why," Alex said dryly as he shoved his things into his bag.

"I think he was just doing some paper work about the stuff you two, but mostly you, have done to SCORPIA. But Snake and Bear came with me."

"Then why couldn't one of them have come get me?" Alex asked.

"Well, they were arguing about why you would be the world's leading expert on SCORPIA and all things terroristy on the ride here and they never realised that we had arrived. So I left them in the car and came to get you."

"Brilliant," Alex drawled.

As if on cue, Snake and Bear came rushing into the classroom, "Sorry, Cub."


End file.
